Railway ballast

The perfect stone if your project has to stand up to major pressure

Railway ballast is one of the most essential and demanding purposes for crushed stone, as it is vital for railroad infrastructure. It looks very much like regular gravel, but in truth it is much sturdier. It has to be in order to act as a support base for the railroad ties. Railway ballast also allows for the drainage of water away from the rails. If you have ever seen that stoned is sloped downward and away from the tracks, this is why that is.

In centuries past, this type of ballast was used on sailing ships, but the purpose of this material hasn’t changed much-if at all-over all of this time. This tried and true method of stabilizing a railway and keeping them clear of accumulated moisture has been around for a long time, and for good reason.

How does railway ballast improve Canada’s railroads?

This type of stone serves many purposes in the function of railways. In addition to providing drainage and stability, it supports the weight of heavy loads that need to be carried by railcars. It also reduces the growth of weeds and other vegetation on and around the tracks, which makes it a lot easier for maintenance workers to do their job in performing repairs or modifications to the tracks.

Our ballast materials are durable as well as highly functional. The high-quality granite and quartz in our rock permits us to produce ballast that will stand up to the demands of time.

What is railway ballast made from?

Ballast is created from natural deposits of various organic materials, including:

Granite

Traprock

Quartzite

Dolomite

Limestone

Here’s why you should trust Lamarche McGuinty’s top-quality ballast

The ballast that is produced by Lamarche McGuinty meets and exceeds the specifications detailed by railway companies for both the transfer of heavy merchandise as well as passenger trains. Our products are also approved by the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association (AREMA), AREMA 4A and CN Class 1.

To make sure that we furnish your project with only the best possible materials, at Lamarche McGuinty we manufacture and thoroughly test all ballast materials on-site in our lab. During testing, a set of specific high-quality ballast specifications are adhered to, and the stones that pass are the only ones that will ever make it into consumers’ hands. You can find examples of our work throughout Quebec and Ontario railways, which shows you just how trusted our railroad ballast materials are.

Call or walk into Lamarche McGuinty today to find the best ballast for your most demanding and important projects.